What You Need to Know-Week of March 21st
The most important weekly updates for you to keep your community healthy
In this Update:
1. Urgent Updates: COVID-19 Metrics
2. Information You Need: Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) Information
3. Information You Need: CDC Community Levels by County Tool
1. Urgent Updates: COVID-19 Metrics
Updated as of: 03-21-2022
Weekly case, death, and hospitalization counts
| In the past week, there has been an average of: | |
| Cases per day | 736 |
| Deaths per day | 64 |
| Compared to two weeks ago: | |
| Cases per day | Decreased by 43% ↓ |
| Deaths per day | Increased by 187% ↑ |
| Hospitalizations per day | Decreased by 72% ↓ |
See breakdown of vaccination by Arizona counties
See updated vaccine information and data in Arizona
2. Information You Need: Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) Information
What is PASC?
Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), sometimes called long-COVID or post-COVID syndrome (PCS), is being increasingly documented. Those with PASC are survivors of COVID-19 who continue to experience symptoms beyond their initial infection or those who have new symptoms that initiate after infection. Unfortunately, a consensus has not yet been reached as to a formal definition of PASC, but informally much of the literature considers it to be symptom presence beyond 28-30 days after the initial infection. Some studies have found that over half of COVID-19 survivors have at least 1 PASC symptom 6 months following their COVID-19 diagnosis.
How does PASC present?
PASC affects many body systems including cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, neurologic, and pulmonary. The condition appears to manifest differently depending on the person. Common symptoms include difficulty concentrating, memory issues, headache, fatigue, chest or abdominal pain, anxiety, gastrointestinal issues, depression, dyspnea, and hair loss.
Who is most at risk for developing PASC?
This question, like many PASC-related questions, remains not well-understood. Some studies have similar findings showing that women, those with more severe cases of COVID-19, or older and eldery individuals are at higher risk for developing PASC. However, there are social implications of PASC showing that those with lower income and adults of Hispanic origin had a higher prevalence of symptoms at day 30.
What about PASC and children?
Limited literature exists about the frequency and characteristics of PASC among children. However, a recent large cohort study found that older children (6-17 years old) reported symptoms associated with PASC more often compared to preschool aged children (0-5 years old), which is a finding that is consistent with previous studies. Fortunately, in this large study, most children reporting PASC symptoms recovered within 1 to 5 months of onset.
Is PASC less likely to occur with the Omicron variant?
There is some indication that because the Omicron variant is less severe than some of the previous variants (e.g., Delta) that there may be less incidence of PASC for those who contracted Omicron. However, more data is needed to determine this. in some individuals – even those with mild cases. Regardless, more research is needed on this topic to better understand if any relationship exists between PASC and particular variants.
3. Information You Need: CDC Community Levels by County Tool
In addition to their existing “COVID Data Tracker,” the CDC has now released another interactive data feature, COVID-19 Community Levels, that can help communities understand what preventative measures are important to take based on the local COVID-19 situation. COVID-19 community level “scores” include low, medium, and high and the determination of what score a county receives is based on a combination of hospital admission and hospital bed usage, as well as the total number of COVID-19 cases in an area. Then, based on this score, the website provides clear preventative steps to take (e.g., wearing masks, vaccination, etc.).
learn more about the COVID-19 community levels
What does this mean for you?
- While this community guide can be used to inform community members about COVID-19 transmission in their area, anyone who would like to wear a mask while around others is encouraged to do so. In addition, many businesses may choose to enforce mask wearing or additional precautionary measures for patrons.
- These guidelines also do not apply to anyone who has symptoms, has tested positive, or has had exposure to someone who has tested positive.
learn more about Quarantine and Isolation
If you would like to learn more about this and other topics related to COVID-19 in Arizona, please complete next week’s AZCOVIDTXT survey that you will receive via text in about a week.